It may be time to start building power plants in Texas again.

British Columbia plans to proceed with construction of the Site C hydroelectric dam on the Peace River in the Canadian province’s northeast.

With the potential for disaster at hydropower projects around the world, the lack of organized training programs becomes a prominent consideration in how companies manage their assets.

The latest news on global small hydroelectric facilities from November-December 2014

The top hydroelectric power news for December 2014

Germany’s utilities, battered by the country’s shift to wind turbines and solar panels, would be glad to sell you a power plant on the cheap. They’ll even pack it up and ship it to another country.

Sweden and Norway agreed to boost their target for renewable energy production amid concerns the additional capacity will exacerbate a power glut and strain the region’s electricity grid.

The U.K. company planning the world’s first tidal-lagoon power station said its next plant may generate electricity at almost half the price.

Beijing, where pollution averaged more than twice China’s national standard last year, will close the last of its four major coal-fired power plants next year.

U.K. electricity from low-carbon sources accounted for almost a quarter of the country’s generation in the fourth quarter as Drax Group Plc converted a second coal-power plant to burn wood.

Australia’s largest electricity producer committed to close its coal-fired power plants within 35 years as part of an effort to cut the nation’s dependence on the fossil fuel.

A $2 trillion push in the U.S. to blend renewable energy into the power supply and fortify transmission lines against extreme weather means that Americans must act more like Europeans to keep their power costs down.

Japan anticipates that by 2030 clean energy such as solar and hydro will generate slightly more of the nation’s electricity than nuclear power plants.

Q2 of 2015 saw a large increase in the generation of electricity from solar PV in the UK, with the growth having a significant impact on electricity market prices and other supply factors.

Tidal power is set for growth in both the near and medium terms, according to new analysis.

Engineering firm Lahmeyer International GmbH and sub-consultant Manitoba Hydro International have been awarded a contract by Tanahu Hydropower Ltd. to provide a number of services associated with the development of the 140-MW Tanahu pumped-storage project in Nepal.

Endesa Chile has unveiled a plan to develop 36 projects, amounting to 6300 MW of power in Brazil, Chile, Peru and Colombia. The board of directors are looking at hydroelectric power in particular for the bulk of the new capacity.

German utility E.ON has agreed to sell its 527 MW Terni hydroelectric power complex to Genoa-based ERG Power Generation S.p.A.

Safety concerns raised by wildfires have forced utility Seattle City Light to evacuate employees from the town of Diablo, the nearby 711-MW Skagit hydropower complex and the North Cascades Institute's Environmental Learning Center.

A meeting of Group of Twenty energy ministers in Istanbul earlier this month affirmed a collective belief in renewable energy -- including hydroelectric power -- amongst the major economies that constitute the international forum.

Hearings on a pair of bills held by the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee this week could potentially lead to an expansion of hydroelectric power in Alaska.

The International Hydropower Association has been re-elected to the steering committee of the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21^st Century (REN21).

Schottel Hydro subsidiary, Black Rock Tidal Power (BRTP), has raised C$15 million (US$11.5 million) for investment in its 2.5-MW TRITON floating marine hydrokinetic energy platform.  

The government of Argentinian province San Juan signed an agreement with PowerChina earlier this week for financing of the 75-MW El Tambolar hydropower project.

The Chilean government's Council of Ministers rejected 27 claims filed by indigenous communities opposing the construction of the 210-MW Mediterraneo hydropower project, at least temporarily allowing development of the controversial plant to continue.

On Nov. 11, Germany-based Aquila Capital announced it has signed an agreement with four Norwegian utility companies -- Statkraft AS, Agder Energi, BKK and Skagerak Energi -- to acquire all shares of Smakraft AS, Norway's largest small-hydro company.  

As the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) of Zambia and Zimbabwe seeks to secure funding for the 2,400-MW Batoka Gorge hydroelectric facility, the region is experiencing rolling blackouts based on reduced inflow to existing hydroelectric generating facilities. 

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed bipartisan hydroelectric power regulatory improvement provisions as part of the North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act of 2015, potentially helping to expedite the project approval process.

The US$1.6 billion Northern Pass transmission line that could tap into 1,096 MW from Canada’s largest hydropower producer, HydroQuebec, was approved Dec. 7, by a 6-0 vote of New Hampshire’s Site Evaluation Committee [SEC].
 

Congress today announced details of a year-end tax deal that could provide a two-year extension on provisions for hydroelectric and marine hydrokinetic resources.

Security researcher Brian Wallace was on the trail of hackers who had snatched a California university's housing files when he stumbled into a larger nightmare: Cyberattackers had opened a pathway into the networks running the United States power grid.
 

Test operations are under way at Norte Energia's 11.2-GW Belo Monte hydropower plant, developer Norte Energia said in a statement.

A report released this month by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) indicates hydropower development in India can play a crucial role in the country’s sustainable energy security if sites for new installed capacity -- among other things -- are accessible, stable and affordable.
 

Companhia Energetica de Minas Gerais (Cemig) of Brazil recently released its first quarter earnings and revealed it has already spent almost half of its forecast investment total for 2016, spending BRL2.15 billion (US$610 million) from January to March, according to BNamericas.

On June 8, during its annual forum held in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, the Canadian Hydropower Association announced the availability of an online map that depicts the country’s hydropower resources. Developed in coordination with the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS), CHA said the map is a tool to explore the story of Canadian hydropower development and learn about one of Canada’s greatest resources.
 

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has signed a memorandum agreement with the Southeastern Power Administration, Tennessee Valley Authority and Tennessee Valley Public Power Association, Inc., to perform a variety of work at Corps hydropower projects.

Electricite de France (EDF) and the World Bank are joining with the government of Cameroon to fund the €$1.2 billion (US$1.3 billion), 420-MW Nachtigal hydropower plant.

Venezuela's government is lifting electricity rationing that began more than two months ago due to drought and rising temperatures that affected water levels at the 1,500-square-mile Guri Reservoir.
 

On July 18, Empresa Publica de Producao de Electricidade (PRODEL) Project Manager, Celso Pontes, announced phase one at the 40-MW Matala hydroelectric project is complete and the detailed design of the second phase is now being prepared.
 

The U.S. Department of Energy released the long-awaited Hydropower Vision report -- alongside $9.8 million in funding for hydroelectric power -- earlier today at HydroVision International 2016 in Minneapolis.

The U.S. Department of Energy released the long-awaited Hydropower Vision report -- alongside $9.8 million in funding for hydroelectric power -- earlier today at HydroVision International 2016 in Minneapolis.

Brazil's Institute of the Environment and Natural Resources, Ibama, has decided not to award an environmental license for the Sao Luiz do Tapajos hydroelectric plant, effectively ending development of the controversial 8,000 MW project.

Brazil's Institute of the Environment and Natural Resources, Ibama, has decided not to award an environmental license for the Sao Luiz do Tapajos hydroelectric plant, effectively ending development of the controversial 8,000 MW project.

In the case of the Fossil Fuel Industry, et. al. VS Earth, et. al., I find myself asking—not for the first time—is justice delayed, justice denied? It should come as no surprise that I am convinced it is.

Brazilian power regulator Agencia Nacional de Eneria Eletricqa (Aneel) has set wholesale cap prices for an upcoming power auction that includes more than 130 small hydroelectric plants.

Developer SN Aboitiz Power-Ifugao has said it remains committed to developing the 390-MW Alimit hydropower project in the Philippines, pending consent from indigenous groups impacted by its construction.

As the water levels in dams in South Africa continue to dwindle, the 2015 Zimbabwe Humanitarian Situation Report notes that water levels in all of Zimbabwe’s seven catchment areas are about 18%, their worst levels in decades.
 

A Brazilian federal court has suspended an operating license for the 11.2-GW Belo Monte hydroelectric plant, stating that its developers have failed to provide water and sewage services to areas near the project.

Ivanhoe Mines announced today in a press release that the Mwadingusha hydropower plant in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has begun supplying an initial 11 MW of power to the national grid after upgrading and rehabilitating the first of six turbine-generators at the plant.
 

Electricite du Laos and General Electric have signed a memorandum of understanding to launch joint research and training programs designed to support the development of Laos' hydroelectric power sector and electric grid.